Frederick Van Voorhies Holman (August 29, 1852 – July 6, 1927) was a prominent lawyer and civic leader of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in the U.S. state of Oregon. Legal counsel for the Portland Railway, Light and Power Company and other businesses, he was active in

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politics and in civic organizations. President of the

Oregon Historical Society The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preser ...

from 1908 to 1927, he was known for his biography of

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...

. A great admirer of roses, Holman helped organize the Portland Rose Society and is credited with giving Portland one of its nicknames, "Rose City". A parcel of land once owned by Holman became Holman Park, which was later merged with other parks and parcels to form Portland's

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

in 1948.

Ancestry and early life

Holman's parents were James Duval Holman and Rachel Hixson (Summers) Holman, both originally from Kentucky. Holman's great-grandfather, Thomas Holman, emigrated from England to South Carolina in 1730. His grandfather, John Holman, born in Kentucky, fought in the War of 1812 and emigrated to Oregon in 1843. His father, James Duval Holman, one of the founders of Pacific City, moved to Portland in 1857. The J.D. Holman School in Portland was named in his honor. One of eight children, Frederick Van Voorhies Holman was born in Pacific County, Washington, in what was then part of the Oregon Territory. He attended public and private schools in Portland and graduated from the

Portland Academy and Female Seminary The Portland Academy and Female Seminary was a private school in Portland, Oregon, United States, operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church from 1851 until 1876. Often abbreviated as the Portland Academy, the school was among the few secondary ...

in 1868. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy (Ph.B) degree in 1875. After studying law, Holman was admitted in 1879 to the Oregon bar.

Career

Holman, who never married, practiced in Portland, where he specialized in corporate, real property, and

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

law and became general counsel for the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company, local general counsel for H. M. Byllesby & Company, and a director of the Oregon Power Company. In addition to his legal work, he was also a writer. Among his published works were the ''Biography of Dr. John McLoughlin'', many articles for the quarterly of the

, and many articles on roses, including the pamphlet, "Roses at Portland, Oregon, and How to Grow Them". An organizer of the Portland Rose Society, he has been credited with giving Portland one of its nicknames, "Rose City". President of the

from 1908 to 1927, he was also president of the Oregon Bar Association in 1909–10, and a regent of the University of Oregon from 1903 to 1915. He was a member of the Portland Charter Commission and director of the

Memorial Association. (McLoughlin, chief factor of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company during the second quarter of the 19th century has sometimes been referred to as "The Father of Oregon"). His political affiliation was with the

, and he served as a delegate to the

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in 1892 and 1904 and was an Oregon member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

from 1904 to 1908. His memberships and affiliations included the American Bar Association, the American Historical Association, the Washington Historical Society, the National Rose Society of Great Britain, the National Geographic Society, and the National Municipal League. In addition, he belonged to Portland organizations including the Arlington, University, Waverly Golf, and Portland Commercial clubs.

Death and legacy

Holman died in 1927 in Portland. He is buried at Lone Fir Cemetery in southeast Portland. Lone Fir is one of several pioneer cemeteries managed by

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

, the regional government of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Holman owned property in the Tualatin Mountains (West Hills) to the northwest of the city center. After the property was damaged by a flume operation in 1909, Holman offered it to the city for a park if it agreed to acquire the land necessary to connect his property to nearby Macleay Park. The transaction was not completed until 12 years after his death. In 1939 his siblings, George F. and Kate Holman, gave the land to the city, and in 1948, Holman Park and several other parks and parcels of land were combined to form

. The 1892 Frederick V. Holman House in Portland's Goose Hollow neighborhood was demolished in early October 2016. It was designed by

Edgar M. Lazarus Edgar Marks Lazarus (June 6, 1868 – October 2, 1939) was an American architect who was prominent in the Portland, Oregon, area for more than 45 years. He was best known as the architect of the Vista House on Crown Point in the Columbia River G ...

References

External links

* *

Obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

on the ''Oregon Historical Quarterly'': Volume 28, No. 3 (Sept. 1927) {{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, Frederick Van Voorhies Burials at Lone Fir Cemetery 1852 births 1927 deaths Writers from Portland, Oregon University of California, Berkeley alumni People from Pacific County, Washington University of Oregon people Oregon lawyers Oregon Democrats 19th-century American lawyers